Jil Sander confirms it will part ways with Rodolfo Paglialunga

London - Jil Sander has confirmed the departure of its creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga Wednesday morning. The Milan-based label is set to say goodbye to Paglialunga following a three year tenure, who joined the team at Jil Sander from Vionnet in April, 2014.

"It was a great pleasure to collaborate with everyone in Jil Sander and to give my contribution in the brand's history and legacy," said Paglialunga on his exit from the label in a statement. Paglialunga was originally taken on board to help elevate the brand and take it to the next level, but following a turbulent period, which saw the label undergo a ,restructuring phase and the departure of its former CEO, the two have decided to part ways.

Rodolfo Paglialunga to exit role at Jil Sander

"We decided to terminate our professional journey with Rodolfo Paglialunga together with the designer himself," added Alessandro Bettari, CEO of the brand which is owned by Japanese Group ILG. "We want to deeply thank Paglialunga for his great job at Jil Sander and the respect he paid to the brand's DNA." Paglialunga presented his final collection for Jil Sander, women fall/winter 2017, last month during Milan Fashion Week, which was praised for its elegant and minimalist approach.

The designer's exit comes a little surprise however, as speculation concerning his impending departure from the fashion house founded by German designer Jil Sander first began last November. Earlier this year reports emerged that Jil Sander had taken on two new creative directors, namely married duo Lucie and Luke Meier, although the label has yet to confirm their appointment or name Paglialunga successor.

Prior to joining the team at Jil Sander Paglialunga lead a revival at fashion house Vionnet, where he helped breath new life into the French fashion house. Before taking over the creative direction at Vionnet, he served for 14 years at Prada, where he worked as the Italian label's womenswear design director.

Photo: Courtesy of Jil Sander